NewsTarget.com
Originally published April 24 2007
The top five cancer-causing foods by
Mike Adams
Ever wonder which foods should be strongly
avoided by those at high risk for cancer? We can begin identifying
cancer-causing foods once we know which ingredients in our food cause
cancer. Some of those ingredients are food additives and chemicals
used to enhance taste, while others are used strictly for appearance
or to increase product shelf life. The key to avoiding cancer-causing
foods is knowing which ingredients are carcinogens -- or cancer
promoters -- and then reading food labels to permanently avoid
consuming those ingredients.
Cancer tumors develop, in part, by feeding on sugar
in the bloodstream. If you eat lots of sugary snacks loaded with
simple carbs, you're loading your bloodstream with the chemical energy
needed for cancer
cells (and tumors) to proliferate. No biological system can live
without fuel for its chemical processes, including cancer
cells. Thus, one of the strategies to pursue for any anti-cancer diet
is to eat low-glycemic diet. That means no refined sugars...
ever! No refined grains (white
flour, for example), no heavy use of sweeteners and the lifetime
avoidance of sugary soda pop. Aside from starving tumors, eating foods
low in sugar and avoiding simple carbs will also keep your weight in
check while helping prevent blood
sugar disorders such as type-2 diabetes.
What to avoid on the labels: high-fructose corn syrup, sugar,
sucrose, enriched bleached flour, white rice, white pastas, white
breads and other "white" foods.
The dangers of hydrogenated
oils
Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated
oils -- another danger -- are developed from otherwise harmless,
natural elements. To make them hydrogenated, oils are heated in the
presence of hydrogen
and metal catalysts. This process helps prolong shelf life but
simultaneously creates trans
fats, which only have to be disclosed on the label if the food
contains more than 0.5 grams per serving. To avoid listing trans fats,
or to claim "trans
fat free" on their label, food
manufacturers simply adjust the serving size until the trans fat
content falls under 0.5 grams per serving. This is how you get modern food
labels with serving sizes that essentially equate to a single bite
of food. Not exactly a "serving" of food, is it?
Besides being a cancer factor, trans fats promote heart disease,
interrupt metabolic processes, and cause belly fat that crowd the
organs and strain the heart. The essential
fatty acids that the hydrogenation process removes are responsible
for a number of processes in your body. When trans fats replace these
essential fatty
acids, they occupy the same space without doing the same job. The
"anchor" portion of the fatty acid is in place (which is how
the body recognizes the fatty acid and puts it to work) but the
chemically active part of the fatty acid is twisted, distorted, and
missing vital parts.
After the hydrogenation process, the fatty acid can't biochemically
function in the same way. Things like brain cell function, hormones,
gland function, oxygen
transport, cell wall function (keeping things in or out of your cells)
and digestive tract operation (putting together nutrients and blocking
allergens) are adversely affected.
Food manufacturers don't tell you this on the product label, of
course. Your body needs essential fatty acids and you are programmed
to keep eating until you get them. If you're only eating trans fats,
you'll never feel fully satiated, because your body will never get the
fatty acids it needs for essential function. Since cancer needs high
blood sugar and low oxygen levels, a person with lots of belly fat who
just can't seem to put down those trans fat cookies or crackers
(also loaded with flour and simple sugars) presents the ideal
environment for the development of cancer.
Since trans fats are often formed during
the frying process, we should also talk about acrylamides.
Acrylamides are not added into food; they are created during the
frying process. When starchy foods are subjected to high heat,
acrylamides form. A Swedish study found that acrylamides cause cancer
in rats, and more studies are under way to confirm the understanding
that acrylamides also cause cancer in humans.
Sodium nitrite (and nitrates)
Food companies add sodium
nitrite into certain foods on purpose. This carcinogen is added to
processed
meats, hot dogs, bacon, and any other meat that needs a reddish
color to look "fresh." Decades ago when meats were
preserved, it was done with salt. But in the mid 20th century, food
manufacturers started using sodium
nitrite in commercial preservation. This chemical is responsible for
the pinkish color in meat to which consumers have grown accustomed.
Although today the use of refrigeration is largely what protects
consumers from botulism and bacteria, manufacturers still add sodium
nitrite to make the meat look pinkish and fresh.
The nitrites themselves are not the problem. People get more nitrites
from vegetables
than they do from meat, according to research by the University of
Minnesota. During the digestion process, however, sodium nitrite is
converted to nitrosamine, and that's where the cancer problems begin.
Nitrosamine is a carcinogen,
but since it is not technically an ingredient, its presence can be
easily overlooked on the packaging. Nitrosamines are also found in
food items that are pickled, fried, or smoked; in things such as beer,
cheese, fish byproducts, and tobacco smoke.
Knowing about all these ingredients doesn't mean there is simply a
"short list" of foods that should be avoided. You have to
vigilant and read labels constantly. Here are the five worst
offenders:
- Hot dogs:
The Cancer Prevention Coalition recommends that children should
not eat more than 12 hot
dogs per month because of the risk of cancer. If you must have
your hot dog fix, look for those without sodium nitrite listed
among the ingredients.
- Processed meats and bacon:
These meats almost always contain the same sodium nitrite found in
hot dogs. You can find some without nitrites, but you'll have to
look for them in natural grocers or health food stores. Bacon is
also high in saturated
fat, which contributes to the risk of cancers,
including breast cancer. Limiting your consumption of processed
meats and saturated fats also benefits the heart.
- Doughnuts: Doughnuts contain hydrogenated oils, white
flour, sugar, and acrylamides. Essentially, they're one of the
worst cancer foods you can possibly eat. Reader's Digest calls
doughnuts "disastrous" as a breakfast food, and many
experts agree it's probably one of the worst ways to start the
day.
- French fries: Fries are made with hydrogenated oil and
fried at high temperatures. Some chains even add sugar to their
fry recipe to make them even more irresistible. Not only do they
clog your arteries with saturated fat and trans fat, they also
contain acrylamides. They should be called "cancer
fries," not French fries.
- Chips / crackers / cookies:
These generally contain white flour and sugar as well as trans
fats, but it's not enough to simply look for these ingredients on
the label; you have to actually "decode" the ingredients
list that food manufacturers use to deceive consumers. They do
this by hiding ingredients (such as hiding MSG in yeast
extract, or by fiddling with serving sizes so they can claim
the food is trans fat free, even when it contains trans fats (the
new Girl Scout cookies use this trick).
Besides avoiding these foods, what else can consumers do to reduce
their risk of cancer? The main things are simple: Eat unprocessed
foods and base your diet largely on plants. Consume foods that have
omega-3 fats and other essential fatty acids. Eat lots of fruits and
vegetables; many common ones have known cancer-fighting properties.
Get regular vigorous exercise, since tumors cannot thrive in highly
oxygenated environments. Keep your blood sugar stable to avoid being
an all-you-can-eat buffet for cancer cells.
Eat foods high in natural vitamin C, a nutrient that deters the
conversion of nitrite into nitrosamine and promotes healthy immune
function. Make sure you get adequate amounts of cancer-fighting
vitamin D through exposure to sunlight -- about 10 to 15 minutes each
day if you have fair skin, or ten times as long if you have dark skin
pigmentation. Stay well hydrated to ensure that your body rids itself
of toxins. Avoid smoking and don't use conventional fragrance,
cosmetics and personal care products -- virtually all of them contain
cancer-causing chemicals.
Preventing cancer is actually quite straightforward. Even the World
Health Organization says that 70 percent of all cancers can be
prevented with simple changes in diet and lifestyle. The truth is that
most people give themselves cancer through the foods, drinks
and products they choose to consume. In my opinion, over 90 percent of
cancers are easily preventable.
By the way, don't you find it interesting that the cancer
industry seems to have no interest whatsoever in urging people to
avoid eating sodium nitrite, or to stop using cancer-causing skin care
products, or to get more sunlight on their skin so they can prevent
cancer with vitamin D? As you'll read in many other articles I've
written here, it is my firm belief that the cancer industry has no
interest whatsoever in preventing
cancer, and it primarily interested in treating cancer for profit.
This view is generally agreed upon by noted cancer experts such as Dr.
Samuel Epstein and Dr. Ralph Moss. See www.PreventCancer.com
to learn more from Dr. Epstein.
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